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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

We are a family of three: husband, wife, and daughter in the third grade. The house represents over 1,800 square feet of conditioned space, more if you count the attic and basement.

We use natural gas for space heating, water heating, and cooking. Space heat involves a boiler in the basement that provides hot water to a system of radiators on the first and second floors. The water heater incorporates a 40-gallon tank, also in the basement. The free-standing gas range fills out this triumvirate. Electricity, of course, covers everything else.

I've been tracking our energy bills on a rolling twelve months basis. I've watched our annual expenditure grow from $2,000 to $2,600 over the past year. For now, our "environmental footprint" remains a question, but the dollars are not-- our outlay for utilities is the fastest-growing item in our household budget. That's why we pursued an energy audit.